by Sabina Bharwani and Carrie Sheffield
, USA TODAY

by Sabina Bharwani and Carrie Sheffield
, USA TODAY

On Tuesday, the Federal Reserve announced yet another jump in the amount of student loan debt that Americans are carrying. With that debt surpassing credit card debt, efforts to keep the $1 trillion burden from becoming the next financial bubble to pop should include finding ways to slow its exponential growth. Financial literacy must be an important part of the effort.

Success means taking a long-term view. Elementary and secondary students who are taught to manage money responsibly as children will be empowered as adults, whether that means knowing alternatives to pricey student loans or turning down an untenable subprime mortgage.

Teaching personal finance, economics and business in schools is a fundamental task in our hypercompetitive world, yet too few of our schools are on board. In 2011, just 22 states required a high school course in economics and just 14 states required the offering of a course in personal finance, according to research from the Council for Economic Education (CEE). These classes offer a solid foundation for studying our ever-globalizing world and guidance on dealing with tempting credit card offers hitting students' mail boxes at age 18.

Tricky subject

Most teachers report feeling underqualified to teach economics and personal finance (less than 20% of them feel qualified, according to the National Endowment for Financial Education) and some have resisted changes to curriculum requirements. Some teachers argue that economics and personal finance courses detract from core requirements of English, reading, science and math. Yet, personal finance and economics complement these subjects, offering real-world lessons that deepen knowledge of topics such as compounded interest, budgeting and social science.

Utah is an excellent case study in how state governments might approach these matters. There, student loan debt is the lightest in the nation. According to the U.S. Department of Education, Utah's student loan default rate is 1.9%, just one-fourth that of the national average. Utah also has some of the best educational requirements for financial literacy, including high school curriculum requirements put in place under then-governor Jon Huntsman.

"Everyone wanted a state that was more competitive, and everyone bought off on the argument that we had to prepare students for a much more competitive environment," Huntsman said in an interview. "There was a give and take with the education union in terms of more compensation and curriculum design."

Huntsman pointed out that states are best equipped to manage their personal finance and economics curriculum rather than imposing a one-size-fits-all federal mandate. States are more adept at changing the curriculum, though state leaders look to national standards for guidance.

Potential solution

Toward that end, 45 states (including Utah) have adopted the Common Core State Standards Initiative, a national education best-practices collaborative of governors and state school administrators. They offer clarity and guidance for key learning outcomes in English and math. These standards are currently silent on personal finance and economics curricula, but CEE is also collaborating with Common Core toward developing best practices on teaching these subjects.

For students trapped in the cycle of poverty, business and personal finance courses begin to offer a lifeline out. At many inner city schools, financial illiteracy, coupled with unrealistic expectations and a lack of role models, set children up for failure later in life.

Personal finance and economics are the languages of the future. All children deserve fluency in these areas. Adding these subjects through systemic educational policy changes is difficult, but they will yield untold dividends in the long run, both for the students and society at large.

Sabina Bharwani, a former teacher, manages teacher leadership development at Teach For America. Carrie Sheffield is a writer who works in financial services.

In addition to its own editorials, USA TODAY publishes diverse opinions from outside writers, including our Board of Contributors.